Sant Trillo St Trillo Betws yn Rhos Conwy Gogledd Cymru North Wales 16

Elian was a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

who founded a church in

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

around the year 450. The parish of Llanelian-yn-Rhos in

Conwy County Borough Conwy County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy) is a county borough in Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south, and Denbighshire to the east. Other settlements in the county borough include Abergele, Betws-y-Coed, Colwyn Bay, Conwy, ...

is named after him. The legend of St. Elian says he was related to

Isfael Isfael or Ismael ( owl, Ysmail), often anglicized as Ishmael, was a 6th-century medieval Welsh bishop of Rhos and saint. He was allegedly also a Breton prince of Armorica. Although his anglicized name invites association with the Biblical Ishmae ...

(another Welsh saint) and laboured in the missions of

Cornwall, England Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is 13 January. Tradition holds that he came by sea from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and landed in

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

at Porth yr Yehen, where he built his church. One folk tale says he forbade the keeping of

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

s after one killed or disturbed a doe in his care.

Cambrian Archaeological Association The Cambrian Archaeological Association ( cy, Cymdeithas Hynafiaethau Cymru) was founded in 1846 to examine, preserve and illustrate the ancient monuments and remains of the history, language, manners, customs, arts and industries of Wales and the ...

(1876). ''Archaeologia cambrensis.'' W. Pickering

Llanelian Road Llanelian Road ( cy, Ffordd Llanelian) is a multi-use stadium in Old Colwyn, North Wales and also known as the 4 Crosses Construction Arena for sponsorship purposes. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of ...

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

, is named after him. His connection with Eglwysilan near Caerphilly is unclear.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elian, Saint Medieval Welsh saints 5th-century establishments Conwy County Borough Anglesey Rhos-on-Sea